Монмут, Орегон: История и современность города

Monmouth ('/m//ɒ//n//m//ə//θ/) is a city in Polk County in the U. S. state of Oregon. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, the origin of its earliest settlers. The population is 11,110 at the 2020 Census and it is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Monmouth was settled in 1853 by a group of pioneers who allocated to build both a city and a "college under the auspices of the Christian Church", and proceeds from the sale of these lands were used to found Monmouth University, currently known as Western Oregon University. For decades, Monmouth was a dry town that banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in supermarkets, restaurants and bars. Monmouth's status as the last dry town in Oregon was ended by a popular vote in the November 2002 election.

Monmouth was settled by Elijah Davidson and his family. Originally an elder of the Christian Church of Cameron (Monmouth, Illinois), Davidson was a devout advocate of prohibition. In 1850, sixty seven year old Elijah Davidson and his family set out for Oregon Territory. By 1854, more than a dozen additional church of Christ families from Monmouth, many of them related to each other or to Davidson, had joined him. In February 1859, Davidson and other trustees efforts to prohibit the importation, exportation, sale, and consumption of alcohol in Monmouth became a reality. One of the main arguments Davidson and his fellow religious supporters used to push prohibition legislation was, "to enable them to suppress and prevent nuisances, to render the possession of life and property more secure, [and] to enable them to improve and embellish the streets of the town." It lies in the Ash Creek watershed, slightly west of the Willamette River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.24 square miles (6 km2), all of it land.

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,534 people, 3,247 households, and 1,769 families living in the city. The population density was There were 3,450 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 82.8% White, 1.1% African American, 1.5% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 6.6% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.4% of the population. There were 3,247 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.5% were non families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.07. Talmadge Middle School is the only middle school feeding CHS, and is located just down the street, in Independence. Elementary schools include Ash Creek Elementary School and Monmouth Elementary School, but there is also Independence Elementary School.